Diary of a Medic-on-a-bike: June ’11

With a couple of weeks off work, I took the opportunity to head off to Andalucia for a much-needed “summer” holiday. The first question I am always asked about this is, “Was it a cycling holiday?”… well, sort of, yes… I was staying with other cyclists and I did take my bike but my aim had been to have some fun, chill out a bit and not to let this turn into some kind of hard-core training camp!

My base for the week was a beautiful villa in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by acres of olive-groves, in the rural, rolling countryside of southern Spain. I couldn’t quite believe how beautiful it was! The roadside was scattered with poppies and wild flowers and every so often I would come across a bright yellow field filled – not with rapeseed – but sunflowers.

This part of Spain is a great place for road riding with miles of smooth, quiet roads. I did struggle, however, to find any road or route that could be described as flat… and even undulating would be quite an understatement! But despite the relentless climbing, there were some absolutely epic descents!

I was a little disappointed to find I’d be riding alone (the others staying at the villa were mountain-biking) and rather concerned that my navigator for the week would be Mr Garmin! For some reason the maps of Spain that I had installed failed to display and having struggled to get any logical guidance from Mr Garmin in the past, I was hardly surprised to find myself riding up a steep dirt track and then carrying my bike for 2 miles through a muddy field before finding my way back onto the road, on my first ride. Thankfully, things improved and I soon got used to following a little pink line through the countryside!

It was so hot and sunny that it was difficult to put in any really hard training efforts or to clock up huge miles but two of the rides would make it onto my list of “epic rides”:

The first was a 98 mile ride out to the Roman city of Cordoba. It was with a sense of adventure that I turned off the pre-programmed route on my Garmin and headed towards Bujalance. I then picked up a back road in the direction of Cordoba. There was obviously a bit of a risk in venturing off the pre-programmed routes and I’m still amazed that I managed to avoid a puncture as I dodged piles of gravel, debris and enormous pot-holes on this very poorly-surfaced road. However, the thirty miles along this route were pure joy! The sky was blue, the sun was shining (and for once it wasn’t blisteringly hot), I was out in the countryside and the fields and hills panned out ahead of me in multi-coloured patchwork. I chuckled to myself as I negotiated a road block (for which there was no prior warning) and tiptoed over a bridge that had subsided into the stream below!

Riding into Cordoba was a bit of a culture shock. Having been in the peaceful countryside for so long, I was suddenly surrounded by traffic and hoards of tourists! I rode over the old bridge into the old town and enjoyed a bocadillo and ice cream in the sunshine whilst happily watching the world go by.

On my final day in Spain, I rode out to the Subbetica mountains, where the others had done most of their mountain biking. This was a 73 mile ride with over 6000 feet of climbing: challenging climbs, epic descents and spectacular views. Thankfully it was a little cooler up in the hills but I started to run out of fluid, so I stopped in the village of Zuheros for water (and a pastry!) and admired the rather stunning gorge that the MTBers had been going on about all week before descending gently into the town of Cabra and riding home.

All in all this was a great break from work and I’m definitely feeling stronger for all that climbing!

It was back to the grindstone this week with 12.5h shifts at work. I have become fondly known as “Cycling Sarah” (to distinguish me from the other two junior doctors called Sarah!) and although people probably think I’m a bit crazy, the cycling bug is really catching on… Just this week, one of the nurses mentioned she’d been away riding the “Coasts and Castles” route from Newcastle to Edinburgh, a midwife proudly told me that she’d completed the 100km London Nightrider Challenge for charity and a group of Neonatal nurses met up in Windsor Park for a bike ride. Impressive!

Racing resumes this weekend. It will be an early start on Sunday morning to get to Stratford for the next round of the Women’s Team Race Series. I have to admit, this season really hasn’t gone to plan and I’d hoped to be “race fit” by now. But with such a demanding job, it has been difficult to fit in quality training, let alone make it to week-day races. So on Sunday I’ll go out, give it my best and, most importantly, have some fun!

Sarah

Pictures:

1. http://www.spain.info/en/reportajes/las_tierras_del_aceite_de_oliva_de_espana.html

2. http://www.joy-riders.com/

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Córdoba,_Spain

4. Courtesy of John Fegan